Crucified
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] [a] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[d] and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
1. What direction was Simon going? What direction was Jesus going?
There was a change in direction for Simon. When we meet up with Jesus He changes the direction of our life. I read one author who talked about how he would have literally had the blood of Jesus on his back from the cross. A man just minding his own business finds himself carrying the cross of Jesus.
Where was he from?
We only hear about Simon in the gospels and it is only in the story of carrying the cross. Yet it tells us who his sons are which gives us the impression that at the time, his sons would have been known.
2. Last week we talked about the mocking that the soldiers did with Jesus. The dehumanization of Jesus. Here we see that continuing. How do you think the dehumanization was impacting those who were watching that loved him? Do you ever have thoughts or questions even today about Jesus. I will be honest there are times that I have wondered if this entire story, if the bible and Jesus himself is even real... I am sure you have had those moments too. Can you imagine those watching, who loved him, but had fully expected him to deliver them, and here he was on the cross and people were mocking him. They must have had moments. What do you think helped to stop those questions?
I really believe that those closest to him, even if they didn't fully understand the scope of what he was doing and who he was, KNEW him and that relationship must have kept those doubts from taking hold. It is the same for us today. To KNOW him gives us the confidence to wade through the moments of question and doubt. I know in my life, the relationship with Him has carried me, has given me confidence and a strong foundation when faced with people who question. How important for us to KNOW him. There will always be people we respect, people we love, who question and even mock Him. Stay connected to Him.
I was also struck by the similarities of their mocks and the temptations of Satan when Jesus was in the wilderness.
3. "My God my God why have you forsaken me?" Why is this what Jesus said? What did He mean? If nothing else I know that everyone of us has at onetime or another wanted to cry this cry!
4. The centurion saw. What makes the difference, between those who see and those who don't? What keeps people from seeing and what keeps us from being blind?
5. Who does Mark mention were there? Do you remember who these women were? Why do you think they are specifically mentioned.
6. Joseph, who was he? What must it have been like to actually take Jesus' body off the cross. Doesn't it strike you that it wasn't Matthew or John, or Peter, or Luke?
I have always tried to put myself in this story and ask myself, where I would have been. Would I have been one of his female disciples there as he was crucified, or would I have been home mourning. Would I have been one yelling "crucify him" or would I have mocked him? Where would I be in this story?
Then maybe the question needs to be, "Where AM I in this story?"
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